Collective Agreement Signing between ITS and MUT

Following over a year of discussions, the Institute of Tourism Studies and the Malta Union of Teachers sign a collective agreement for ITS academics. The collective agreement was approved with absolute majority by academics. For the first time, ITS academics will benefit from conditions at par to their counterparts in other Higher Educational Institutions in Malta. This collective agreement will be in effect as from 1st January 2017, with a five-year term.

ITS academics will benefit from salaries which match those of other Higher Educational Institutions, and for the first-time academics will also benefit from academic work resources. ITS academics will also benefit from work conditions which are in line with other academic institutions. This collective agreement will also pave the way for the ITS’ project to develop the Institute into an International Tourism and Hospitality Education Hub. With this objective in mind, ITS and MUT agreed on new flexible work practices, ranging from 8:30am to 11pm, which reflect operational practices of the industry.

This collective agreement will assist in progressing towards modular teaching, which will assist in developing ITS even more so as to compete with International Institutions. Modular teaching will not only be advantageous for both students and academics, but will also permit individuals already working in the industry to further their studies and achieve higher qualifications at their own pace.

In a conjunct statement, ITS Chairperson Mr Carlo Micallef and ITS CEO Mr Pierre Fenech stated that “This collective agreement is a crucial step for us and we are all glad to have reached an agreement with MUT which benefits both academics and the institute, and in turn and most importantly, our students. This signing is another crucial step towards developing ITS into an International Education Hub, following another important milestone to relocate ITS to a campus which brings together the previous two campuses in St Julians and Pembroke into one. The new campus will be able to host more students and also provide specialised classrooms and teaching labs.”

MUT President Marco Bonnici stated that “The MUT has taken on board the plight of academics working in vocational post-secondary institutions who have been requesting alignment of conditions with their counterparts in the academic streams for years. The MUT has seen ITS on its side in bringing forward claims for improved financials and conditions to recognise the valuable work being carried out by its academics. We are proud to have concluded the first agreement which raises vocational education to a new level at ITS, an institution which is synonymous with high quality vocational education in the tourism and hospitality field and which is evolving to meet the needs of the sector and its students.”

In a statement Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi said that the signing of this collective agreement is an important step towards transforming the Institute for Tourism Studies into a world class higher National educational institution.